


Love Is A Battlefield

by PhoenixFire17



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Pre-Relationship, Slow Build, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2015-09-22
Packaged: 2018-04-17 22:30:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4683710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixFire17/pseuds/PhoenixFire17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inquisitor Trevelyan and The Iron Bull dance around each other, both choosing to keep their true feelings silent, believing more will never be possible.</p><p>When a stranger comes to Skyhold however, everything begins to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Taarsidath-an Halsaam

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArishoksBride](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArishoksBride/gifts).



> This story prompt came to me via the beautiful ArishoksBride.
> 
> I do not own any of the original characters, plot lines, or dialogue. I do not profit from this story. However please respect the fact that this is an original work and a result of long hours wrangling plot bunnies and epic battles with my arch-nemesis...grammar. Please do not re-purpose this story without my permission.

Inquisitor Evelyn Trevelyan was going to strangle her spymaster as soon as she returned to Skyhold...but first she was going to soak in a long warm bath. When the Orlesian had briefed the team before their newest mission, she had conveniently left out the part about stagnant marshes and toxic bogs. After spending an extra two weeks in the Exalted Plains waiting for a team to excavate a pass, Evelyn and the others found themselves trudging through thick wet sludge up to their knees. Every time she took a step she feared her boots would tear right off her legs. Definitely not in Leliana’s report.

_God I hate being wet!_

The Storm Coast and Crestwood had been bad, the constant rain seeping through every layer of clothing, leaving her shivering and irritable. This place was different though. The air was warm and muggy, making her sweat and causing her leathers to stick in places they really shouldn’t. The mud smelled foul and clung to her lower half making her legs feel heavier with each labored step.

Glancing behind her, she noticed that Vivienne and Sera looked just as haggard as she did. Bull on the other hand, looked positively giddy.

“Andraste’s flaming ass, Bull! The rest of us are standing around looking like drowned nugs and you look like the cat who got the cream. What is wrong with you!” She whined, sounding pitiful.

Bull just smirked, “Dunno Boss, just feel good. Not a bad view either. The water really shows off the curves of the landscape.”

He said the last with a lewd grin, caressing how her tunic clung to the curves of her breasts and hips with his eyes.

Evelyn could feel her ears flush and her breath catch. Bull had been the first Qunari she had ever met but the idea of the large strong oxmen of the north had always fascinated her. She had never acted on the fantasy however. Being the daughter of a noble meant she had an image to maintain. Besides, there had been little opportunity to lay with a Kossith in an Andrastian Circle tower.

She was not an innocent however. Spending all of one's time wandering the same halls alongside the same people every day of your life left little opportunities for adventure. Young mages had to find any means to alleviate the boredom of a life spent inside a tower. Therefore many of the apprentices had participated in clandestine courtships. Trevelyan had been a willing party to a number of late night trysts during her stay. None of the other mages however had fulfilled her greatest fantasies.

The life of a Circle mage was a soft one. Hours of spell work strengthened the mind but did little for the body. She dreamed of leather skin stretched tight over bulging muscles. Lines of scar tissue rough under her fingers. Large hands, marred with calluses, holding her down and manipulating her body in ways no man ever had.

That is why she had been so fascinated with the giant Qunari mercenary known as The Iron Bull. When she had watched him at the Storm Coast, muscles rippling beneath grey skin, she wanted nothing more than to fight - and lie - beside him. Over their months of fighting however, Evelyn had seen the man beyond the fantasy.

At first glance Bull was just another mercenary, fighting for whoever had the largest purse and bedding anyone with a pretty face. However, underneath the rough facade was a truly gentle man. Whether it was giving an eye for a stranger or ensuring justice for a group of murdered children, Bull always fought for those who could not defend themselves. He was also a considerate lover (or so she’d been told), never forcing his affections on anyone unwilling to receive them.

Bull was a fierce warrior and as well as a good man, and Evelyn could feel herself falling for him day by day. She was no longer just the Herald of Andraste however, but the Inquisitor as well. Rather than a mere symbol, she was now the leader of the most powerful organization left standing. All of Thedas was expecting her to solve their problems, whether it be finding a lost ram or closing a bloody hole in the sky. She could not afford the luxury of indulging in her own selfish desires. Which is why she had never approached Bull or accepted his advances.

A tremendous roar and Sera’s gasp pulled Evelyn from her reverie. Before them stood a massive high dragon. Its leathery hide stretched tight over bulging muscles, haunches stripped in shades of yellow and white. Its head and shoulders were a vibrant purple and blue sparks poured from its mouth to trickle down its length.

_Well great, I’m going to be next to useless!_

Evelyn let out a groan as the rest of the party moved into position. With her specialization focused on storm magic, she would be little help against the electricity magic pouring from the dragon. She would have to stand back and support her team members as best she could with her limited spirit magic.

_Damn it! Why couldn’t I have completed my specialization training already!_

While she silently berated herself for taking so long to decide on a mage class to focus in, she quickly cast a barrier, watching as the green energy shimmered and pulsed around her companions.

As she readied her next spell, Bull squared his shoulders and let out a ferocious bellow, dragging the dragon’s attention away from Evelyn and the rest of the party. The distraction provided Vivienne and Sera with the opportunity to attack. Acting as single unit, they aimed at the delicate membrane stretched across one of the dragon’s massive wings. Vivienne iced the wing, freezing it solid before Sera loosed an explosive bolt. The wing shattered, ripping the skin apart and leaving large gaping lesions across the thin skin. The beast roared and pulled the now useless appendage to her side, but the damage had been done: she was grounded.

Pressing their newly gained advantage, Bull charged the dragon’s front legs, hacking away at the thick scale armor. Arrow after arrow flew toward the creature, hitting it from all sides. Sera refused to allow the beast a moment’s respite. Vivienne charged after Bull, dodging under one of Sera’s backflips. With her spirit blade high, she struck out at the vulnerable underbelly.

Evelyn held back and watched her team work, casting barriers when needed and pelting the dragon with energy bolts when she spied an opening. She had picked her inner circle well, they danced as if they had been fighting side by side for decades. The dragon was quickly toppled and with another ear-splitting roar, Bull hacked off the beast’s head. Doubled over and panting, the group watched as the once mighty creature crumpled into dust, the magic sustaining it existence no longer keeping its physical body intact. All that remained was a skull and a modest pile of bone and skin.

Evelyn glanced over toward Bull and caught him staring back. As they watched each other, a large grin split Bull’s face, making his eye crinkle at the corners. Evelyn felt her own face mirror Bull’s mirth and soon they were both laughing and cheering over their victory.

Still beaming with joy and body thrumming with pent up adrenaline, she walked over to what remained of the dragon carcass to harvest what she could. Bending down she began collecting scales and pieces of bone, excited to see what that armorer in Denerim would create now that she had the requisite supplies. She would send Inquisition scouts later to retrieve the skull.

_It might make a good centerpiece for the great hall…OOOH! Or maybe a throne!_

As she was mulling over how she would look sitting atop a dragon maw throne, she heard Bull mumble behind her.

“Taarsidath-an halsaam!” he grunted out, voice low and raspy. Glancing back, she noticed his eye flicking restlessly between the curve of her ass and the giant dragon skull beside her. His eye was hooded and dark when he met her stare. Though the meaning of the phrase escaped her, the sound of qunlat paired with his heated glare had her blushing and her core tingling.

Returning to her task, Evelyn breathed deep, trying to retain her composure. Giving the pile one last glance, she was readying to stand, when something caught her eye. Hidden underneath a piece of charged scale, there lay a single _enormous_ dragon’s tooth. Not sure why she picked it up and turned it in her hand. Glancing back at Bull, who was now talking animatedly with Sera, she slipped the tooth into her pack.

_Who knows! Maybe it can be used for something._

With that last thought she joined her companions and resumed their agonizing trek through toxic sludge, once again contemplating the murder of her friend and spymaster.


	2. Demands of the Qun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Iron bull contemplates his relationship with Inquisitor Trevelyan.
> 
> Will she be his, or is he too late?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is super short compared to the first chapter. Yet I feel so bad that I have not posted anything yet. So I decided something was better than nothing.
> 
> I will start posting the chapters more often (I have finally caught a break with classes so I will be able to write more often than I have been).
> 
> This story prompt came to me via the beautiful ArishoksBride.
> 
> I do not own any of the original characters, plot lines, or dialogue. I do not profit from this story. However please respect the fact that this is an original work and a result of long hours wrangling plot bunnies and epic battles with my arch-nemesis...grammar. Please do not re-purpose this story without my permission.

Bull sat in his chair watching Inquisition troops relax and mingle in the main room of the Herald's Rest. He was many glasses in and starting to feel the effects whatever in damnation was in that bottle of Dragon's Piss the Inquisitor had stored in the cellar. He had broken in earlier that day, looking for something quite a bit stronger than the tavern's mead. 

His solitary eye narrowed as he stared at the woman in question. She was a vision as always. 

Her long auburn curls fell around her shoulders in waves, framing her strong but delicate features. She looked ethereal, as if she was half elf in origin. The soft light from the hearthfire flickered across her pale skin. A light blush highlighted her sharp cheekbones - whether from mead or laughter he wasn't sure - accentuating the splattering of freckles across her face . Her emerald eyes sparkled with merriment as she waved her arms over her head, completely animated and lost in the story. 

Bull lived for the moments that he could see her as she was now: carefree and thriving like a hothouse rose. Not dragged down by life and clinging to hope, the weight of all the world on her slim shoulders. He wished he could take that burden away, if only for a few moments, if only to see that smile that split her face and wrapped him further around her finger. 

When he had first come to join the Inquisition, it was an assignment. If he happened to get a few nights with the fiery mage running the show, well then, that was just a bonus. Things began to change however, the longer he stayed with Evelyn Trevelyan: Herald of Andraste and Leader of the Inquisition. She was much more than he had expected. Both strong and capable, she rivaled any qunari general. Yet she was compassionate and cared for every soul under her command, regardless of rank. She was sarcastic and quick witted, yet innocent in many ways, and truthful to a fault. She was a contradiction: silk covered steel. 

But the Qunari do not love. Sex is for fun and to relieve stress - in some cases to reproduce. A Qunari has companions, brothers and sisters in arms, but not lovers. Yet he was not Qunari, not anymore. He was Tal-Vashoth, a savage killer no better than an animal. 

He had given up his life and his people, for both his men...and for her. He could never tell her what her decision had meant to him: to choose his men over a beneficial alliance, to put their lives before the reach of the Inquisition. It was a gift he could never repay. On that day he saw her no longer as an assignment, no longer as a mere bedfellow. He wanted to protect her in danger, to support her in pain, to carry her in weakness. 

Yet she was off limits: the Herald, the Inquisitor, the Boss. He was only a Tal-Vashoth while she was the savior of all Thedas. 

Which is why he sat in the darkness of his chair, drinking the piss of dragons and watching her with another man. Another Kossith. Another mage. A follower of the Qun. A true Qunari. 

He sat in the darkness, watching as the woman he loved was wooed by another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOH!!! Who is this in Skyhold? What does he want? Will Bull triumph or will Evelyn be lost to him forever?
> 
> Keep watching for the next chapter to find out!
> 
> As always please comment, give kudos, bookmark, ANYTHING! I love to hear what ya'll think so don't be shy.
> 
> I have a Tumblr! So go to the address below with any requests!  
> http://crazysouthernlady.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> Though the prompt is not fully covered in this chapter, the porition that relates is as follows:
> 
> "I would love to read about a pre-relationship between female mage Trevelyan, (experienced woman who has a fiercely hidden weakness for those buff, intense oxmen) and The Iron Bull. Now I'm sure he'd be flirtateous like he is in game, but really underneath that he really is developing a strong case of love. Evelyn (I don't care if you re-name her but I prefer cannon when reading fics) feels the same but believes that there could never be anything between them, what with all the responsibilities that being the Inquisitor entails, so she never lets on how she really feels."
> 
> I focus more on Tevelyan's feelings in this chapter, however, Bull's POV is soon to come!
> 
> As always please comment, give kudos, bookmark, ANYTHING! I love to hear what ya'll think so don't be shy.
> 
> I have a Tumblr! So go to the address below with any requests!  
> http://crazysouthernlady.tumblr.com/


End file.
